After weeks of speculation about whether a new deal would get done, the Arsenal Gunners and Theo Walcott have inked a new three-and-a-half year deal worth $160,000 a week.
"I have made it clear from the start that I wanted to stay at Arsenal, so I am pleased we have agreed a deal that everyone is happy with,'' Walcott said. "What is important now is for the team to realize its potential and win trophies.''
Walcott has repeatedly said the protracted negotiations were not about money but about his desire to play as a central striker rather than a winger.
Walcott has been essential to the team's success this season and will likely continue to do so for a least the next few seasons.
Manager Arsene Wenger - who helped secure new contracts for Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson earlier this season - is thrilled to have finally sorted out Walcott's future at the club.
"We are all delighted that Theo has signed a new contract," Wenger said. "He joined us as a 16-year-old and since then has developed very well to become an extremely important player for both Arsenal Football Club and England.
"Theo is a strong player and also a great person, and the combination of his ability and pace always make him such a valuable asset either from the flanks or down the middle. Theo's contract extension now gives us a strong nucleus of ambitious young players who have committed to the Club and want to be successful with us as a group."
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